Today, learning any martial art is beneficial – each in its unique way. BJJ is no different. In addition to all the mental and physical benefits it grants its trainees, it’s also effective. This article will examine whether Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is suitable for Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA.
BJJ is effective for MMA because it teaches ground grappling, a complimentary technique that goes well with other martial arts. However, in the elite levels, knowing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu alone—won’t be enough. As such, it’ll be best if you combine it with other martial arts, to create a more complete style.
Elite MMA fighters know to use more than a single martial art. As a result, they’re able to adapt to any opponent or scenario. That’s a vital characteristic of a fighter because it means you know how to use your skills for self-defense, as they’re the least predictable situations.
I don’t see a scenario where an elite fighter wouldn’t know to use grappling for one’s advantage. That doesn’t have to be BJJ; but, grappling, in general, is crucial to become a complete fighter. Some martial arts that teach that include judo, wrestling, and sambo.
That said, Jiu-Jitsu seems to be the best of all grappling fighting styles because it’s more than just basic fighting. Rather, it teaches ways to understand the opponent and one’s strategy – eventually using it against one.
Before diving in, if you want to know what the mental benefits of BJJ are, ensure to follow the link to an article of mine on the topic.
Why BJJ is effective in MMA
As the introduction of this article suggested, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is suitable for MMA because it teaches practical and effective fighting techniques. Likewise, it teaches complimentary movements; meaning that you’ll be able to combine it with another martial art, usually a striking-focused one.
BJJ is effective in MMA because it allows the fighter to learn many techniques when combining it with another striking-focused martial art, including boxing, Muay-Thai, and kickboxing. When combining two martial arts to complete one another, the fighter will have a more complete style, an immediate advantage.
So, yea, combining two martial arts that complete one another is the secret to reach the elite levels. You simply can’t remain on the top levels if you’re uncapable of adapting to any opponent. That will require you knowing various fighting techniques from different worlds.
From now on, I want you to look at some elite Mixed Martial Arts fights. Notice how the fighters are extremely dynamic and adaptive. There won’t be a fight which will look the same as the another one. That’s because adapting to the opponent is a part of the game.
At last, ground grappling is extremely effective, both for MMA and for street fights. Likewise, it combines well with striking-based martial arts, such as boxing, kickboxing, and Muay-Thai. Because of that, elite fighters learn BJJ—so they’ll be more adaptive and thus become elite fighters.
Is BJJ effective for street fights?
Now we understand that Jiu-Jitsu is highly effective in MMA. That’s all great. However, some of you may be more interested in real self-defense situations. You may want to learn fighting techniques which apply in real life, which is what martial arts are all about. So, is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu effective in street fights?
BJJ is effective for street fights because it teaches practical and applicable fighting techniques—revolving around ground grappling. These techniques will allow you to maneuver your opponent while standing up or being on the ground, which is where self-defense situations usually end up.
Often, you’ll see people think that striking, hence punching and kicking, is the way to go for self-defense. However, everyone knows how to dodge a punch or a kick. And even if they don’t, striking is unreliable compared to other fighting techniques.
Primarily, knowing to grapple, and especially Jiu-Jitsu, will allow you to finish fights with a single technique. Yes, a proper execution of one technique allows you to end up winning a fight in seconds.
BJJ is all about submissions and chokes. Once you got hold of any ground grappling technique, you’re about to come out on top. In a real self-defense situation, where the attacker is dangerous when unguarded, you’ll let go of the technique when one is unconscious.
There won’t be any unconscious partners in training, of course, as you can tap out whenever you desire to. As a result, BJJ training is a relatively injury-free environment. But, there’s no tapping out in real life.
In street fights, your goal is to finish a situation with as few injuries as possible. If your opponent taps out, you won’t stop if one is dangerous when let go. Instead, you’ll finish the fight accordingly and call local authorities.
If you want to train grappling at home, you must buy a high-quality mat. So, follow the link if you want to know which are the best grappling/Jiu-Jitsu mats for your money.
Which is better, BJJ or MMA?
When comparing two martial arts, we need to examine a hypothetical situation; if two fighters, each representing one fighting style, were to fight, who would win? When we answer that question, we also have the answer for which is better, BJJ or MMA?
MMA is better than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu because it teaches a vast variety of practical fighting techniques. These combine and create complete fighting styles, which is what elite fighters do to stand out. BJJ, however, only teaches a single group of techniques, which are ground grappling.
Jiu-Jitsu practitioners aren’t as complete fighters because they’ve only learned a single group of techniques, ground grappling. Striking and kicking are often out of training because they’re not its essence.
When the Samurais first started to learn Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, they used it to learn an effective way of fighting. That’s what BJJ is all about, teaching others how to fight fiercely. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best martial art.
MMA is more suitable for self-defense, as it teaches highly effective and practical fighting techniques. It’ll teach its trainees striking, kicking, takedowns, elbowing, punching, kneeing, clinching, ground grappling, and even throws.
These are all applicable to real life techniques—MMA fighters learn and become masters of. As you can see bolded above, it also teaches ground grappling. So, Mixed Martial Arts fighters also know how to use BJJ techniques, which gives them even more of an advantage.
Before continuing, if you want to save money by training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at home, follow the link to find out how to do it properly.
Best martial arts for MMA
When considering which martial arts you want to learn, it’ll be best to start with a purpose. What do you want to achieve from your fighting journey? Let me tell you something, each fighting style will provide unique benefits and value. One of these is Mixed Martial Arts.
Here are the best martial arts for MMA:
- Jiu-Jitsu
- Wrestling
- Judo
- Jeet Kune Do
- Boxing
- Kickboxing
- Muay-Thai
As you can see, these are martial arts that you can combine with other ones to create a complete style. On the other hand, only a single fighting style from this list is complete by itself; that is Jeet Kune Do, the martial art Bruce Lee created.
That said, you can combine all the other martial arts with all the other on the list. That means that you can create a more complete style by learning and mastering these fighting styles. Eventually, that’s all it takes to become a Mixed Martial Artist.
Final words
BJJ is suitable for MMA because it teaches ground grappling. This fighting technique is a complimentary movement; meaning that you can learn other martial arts and combine them together. This will create a more complete fighter, which is what the UFC is all about.
You can’t show up to elite fighting championship knowing only a single group of fighting techniques. Other fighters with a more unique fighting style will beat you because they’re more capable of adapting to any fighter.
The point is, BJJ alone isn’t sufficient to beat an elite MMA fighter. Nevertheless, if you combine other martial arts, such as boxing and Muay-Thai, with your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu style, you’ll immediately become a complete – and overall – a much better fighter.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading BJJ vs. MMA, which is the better martial art? If you want to decide which to learn, reading the article will help you to make that difficult choice.